While it’s more dynamic than most constructed MTG formats, Duel Commander still has a very stable metagame. Similar Commanders and decks take the top spots in most events, leaving little room for innovative brews to break through. That said, we do see unusual strategies do well from time to time. Earlier this week, for instance, a spicy Old Rutstein deck put up a top result in a Duel Commander League. This list takes a Reanimator plan and fleshes it out with multiple game plans, to potent effect.
Old Rutstein In MTG Duel Commander
The Old Rutstein list in question, which Kozddoll piloted to a 5-0 finish, is effectively a Reanimator/Midrange hybrid. The Reanimator plan is the big draw here, with terrifying threats like Archon of Cruelty and Summon: Bahamut capable of deciding games on their own when cheated out.
To set this up, Kozddoll’s list runs plenty of ways to get these big hitters into the graveyard. Whether it’s self-mill from Old Rutstein, cards like Overlord of the Balemurk, or graveyard tutors like Buried Alive, setting up something scary is easy. While the Entomb/Reanimate combo being banned slows things, cards like Animate Dead can still get your big threats out by turn three.
These tools also help to support the deck’s pseudo-combo plan, which revolves around Hoarding Broodlord. Once dropped, Broodlord can search up Saw in Half, which you can cast via Convoke to make two more Broodlords. These can then grab Sacrifice and Griselbrand, letting you cash one Broodlord in for mana, then drop Griselbrand and start drawing cards. This is probably the most reliable line here, but you can also grab Alpha Deathclaw or Summon: Bahamut to deal with specific problems.
When Kozddoll’s deck isn’t going over the top like this, it can play a grindy Midrange game pretty well, too. Golgari staples like Deathrite Shaman, Orcish Bowmasters, and Six all give you easy, resilient plays. Old Rutstein himself helps a ton here as well, generating extra value every turn while also filling your ‘yard slowly. Alongside a solid suite of mana dorks and value creatures, it can easily hold the board even against dedicated graveyard hate.
Deal Or No Deal?
While it’s certainly unusual in the format, novelty alone won’t earn Old Rutstein a regular place in the Duel Commander metagame. It’ll need to contend with the current top dogs, namely Spider-Man 2099 and Tasigur, the Golden Fang, first.
Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. Both of these decks run powerful interaction and permission spells like Daze and Counterspell. Since Reanimator depends heavily on resolving singular big plays to really perform, running into cards like these is an issue. This is doubly true since, being in Golgari, Old Rutstein has no way to push back against this interaction itself. Even if you can stick a big threat, these decks can often just bounce it away, and continue pressing their advantage.
Fortunately, the other, quite literal, top dog in current Duel Commander is Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, which is a good matchup for Old Rutstein. Since this is a more ‘fair’ Midrange deck, you’ll often be able to overwhelm it with Reanimator plays. Even if you can’t, just competing on board until you can tutor a big play is a very reasonable strategy. Phelia does pack a ton of graveyard hate, however, so you’ll need to time your big plays well to avoid blowouts.
Overall, While it has its advantages, Old Rutstein probably isn’t going to be taking over Duel Commander any time soon. As things stand, interaction-heavy blue decks keep their most powerful tendencies in check. Because of this, Old Rutstein will likely need to wait for a more Midrange-focused metagame to really shine.
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